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Abstract
The purpose of this experiment is to determine which solvent works best
at separating ink into its components. Chromatography is the process of
separating pigment or ink into individual components. A simple version of this
process is to mark a line with the ink on a strip of coffee filter. Each strip will be
held over a solvent and will be timed for ten minutes. At the end of ten minutes,
the distance the pigment carried by the solvent will be recorded. It is
hypothesized that by using water as the solvent the pigment will travel the
farthest distance along the strip, thus proving water as the most effective solvent.
Quantitative results display that the pigment in water traveled the farthest
for both each trial and for the average of the three trials. The solvent that traveled
the second farthest was salt water (1 M). The difference between the average
distance water traveled versus that of salt water was 3.26667 centimeters. This
shows that water, as a solvent, proved was more effective compared to the other
solvents. After salt water, acetone traveled the farthest with peanut oil coming in
last.
An analysis of the results concludes that water is the best solvent to use to
separate ink to its individual component. Thus, water does live up to its name as
the universal solvent.
Introduction
For everyone ink stains are easily acquired, but difficult to remove. In fact,
ink stains are one of the top five common clothing stains (Huntington, 2006).
Soaking the stain in just water and rubbing with soap does not always do the
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trick. Well then, what works the best? In order to understand how to remove ink
properly, proper knowledge about ink must be known.
According to Dr. Kunjappu, ink is defined as A colloidal system of fine
pigment particles dissolved in a solvent where the solvent may be organic or
inorganic (Kunjappu, 2003). Today ink is composed of organic solvents such as -
propylene glycol, propyl alcohol, toluene or glyco-ethers and dyes (eosin,
resins, etc.) (Kunjappu, 2003). The process of separating ink into its components
is chromatography (OLeary & Shelley, 2003). The simplest process of this is to
allow a solvent to travel through chromatography paper (paper towels or coffee
filters as well) with the ink stain present (OLeary & Shelley, 2003). The different
molecules present in this colloid move through and separate as the
chromatography paper absorbs the solvent. This process will be used in this
experiment. Note that the relationship between whether the pigment travels or
the solvent does is gray. If ink separates into multiple components, the
chromatography paper may only show the visible components, although water
might have traveled past them. Thus, the distance the pigment (carried by the
solvent) traveled is recorded.
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Experimental Design
For this experiment, the independent variable is the type of solvent. Four
types will be used: distilled water, salt water, acetone, and peanut oil. The
dependent variable is the distance the pigment (carried by the solvent) travels. As
stated in the introduction, the relation whether the pigments components or the
solvent itself travels is somewhat grey. Therefore, the distance the ink travels
(visible to the eye) is measured. No confounding variables exist as all were taken
into account as constants. The constants for this experiment include brand and
size of cups, amount of each solvent, length and type of coffee filter strip, type,
color, brand of ink, and time allowed for solvent to travel. It is hypothesized that
using water as the solvent will allow the pigment to travel the farthest. The null
hypothesis is that using distilled water, as the solvent, would not lead the ink to
travel farther compared to using other solvents.
Materials
For simplicity purposes, coffee filters will be used instead of
chromatography paper (OLeary and Shelley, 2003). The solvents that will be
tested include: 100 mL of Good Sense nail polish remover (acetone), 100 mL of
Ozarka distilled water, 100 mL of peanut oil, and 100 mL of Salt Water (Morton
Salt and Ozarka Water). Four Great Value coffee filters are also needed along
with twelve Great Value plastic cups. In order to hang the filter strips from the
top of the cup, four BIC mechanical pencils along with Scotch Tape and scissors
will be needed. Other materials include a Yellow Crayola Marker, stopwatch,
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ruler, and a weighing scale (to measure the amount of salt to be dissolved in the
salt water), and a calculator.
Methods
Set up involves the preparation of solvents. First, label four plastic cups
with the solvent name and amount on each limit 25 mL per one solvent per
cup. Second, measure 5.845 grams of salt to be dissolved for the 100 mL solution
of salt water. Third, pour the salt into a measuring cup with ten mL of distilled
water. Slowly stir in the salt until it dissolves. Then add more distilled water until
the 100 mL mark. Now, a 1 molar solution of salt water is prepared. Pour 25 mL
of this solution into the plastic cup labeled with salt water 25 mL.
Fourth, cut a rectangular strip of coffee filter so that it is fifteen
centimeters in length and three centimeters in width. Cut the bottom to edges
into a point to make the strip resemble an arrow. Fifth, draw a line across the
strip using the Yellow Crayola Marker. Sixth, tape the opposite end of the filter
strip along the center of the pencil. Place this pencil along the rim of the cup so
that the strip hangs into the center of the cup with the tip touching the surface of
the solvent. Make sure no more than the tip of the strip does not come in contact
with the solvent. Seventh, repeat steps four through 6 once for each cup. This will
resemble the first trial.
Eighth, once all strips have been placed, start the timer for ten minutes. At
the end of ten minutes, remove each strip and record the distance traveled by the
pigment carrying solvent. Repeat steps one through 8 two more times in order to
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have three trials. Finally, follow proper cleanup procedure (OLeary and Shelley,
2003).
Results
Type of Solvent vs. Distance Ink Traveled (cm)
Solvents
Trial Distilled Water Salt Water (1 M) Acetone
Peanut
Oil
1 5.3 cm 3.1 cm 1.9 cm 0.5 cm
2 6.7 cm 2.4 cm 1.1 cm 1.2 cm
3 7.5 cm 3.3 cm 0.8 cm 1 cm
Average 6.5 cm 2.9333 cm 1.2667 cm 0.9 cm


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Discussion
The purpose of this inquiry was to determine the best solvent to separate
ink into its components. This idea was generated from multiple observations of
how difficult it is to remove a stain from clothing. The process used to separate
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ink is known as chromatography. This was done by hanging a strip of coffee filter
(with the ink stain) over multiple solvents and allowing the solvent to flow
through. The distance traveled by the pigment (carried by solvent) was recorded.
As determined, the solvent that allowed the ink to travel the most distance
was distilled water. This means that distilled probably works the best at
separating ink. This supports the initial hypothesis. In addition, this contradicts
the statement in the introduction that water does not always separate ink. This is
probably because although water should separate ink, error is possible in actual
application.
Other data points include the difference in average ink travel distance of
distilled water versus salt water was 3.2667 centimeters. Another is that the order
in which the solvents allowed the ink to travel the farthest (increasing) is distilled
water, salt water (1 M), acetone, and peanut oil. This could be because distilled
water is the lightest in terms of molar mass and density. However, one result that
was surprising is that acetone was not as effective as salt water even though its
density and molar mass is lower.
Possible errors include the use of coffee filters rather than
chromatography paper. Had chromatography paper been used, the results may
have varied. Another error is the timing of the placement of strips in the cups.
Some could have been placed before others, allowing the solvent to have more
time to travel through the strip and ink. In addition to this, a possible error could
have been thickness of the ink line. For some strips, the thickness of the line
could have been more. This would have altered the rate and distance at which the
solvent was able to penetrate the ink.
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Future replications of this experiment would include multiple changes.
One would be to use chromatography paper rather than coffee filter (used for
simplicity). Another modification would to make the ink line consistent on all
strips before placing them in solvents. A future change would also be to test
which solution of water mixed with different laundry detergents works best at
separating the pigment. This would test which brand actually is able to remove
stains rather than just advertise such.


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References Cited
Ainsworth, Mitchell, C., "Inks and Their Composition and Manufacture," Charles
Griffin and Company Ltd, 1904.
Edwin, Haslam. Vegetable tannins Lessons of a phytochemical lifetime.
Phytochemistry, Volume 68, Issues 2224, NovemberDecember 2007,
pages 27132721, doi:10.1016/j.phytochem.2007.09.009
Huntington Sharon J. Think Ink. Christian Science Monitor September 21, 2004,
retrieved January 17, 2006.
Kunjappu, J. Ink chemistry. Royal Society of Chemistry, 2003. Retrieved from
http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/Issues/2003/March/inkchemistry.as
p
O'Leary, N., & Shelly, S. What's in a color?. New York: Penguin Group 2003.
Retrieved from http://www.infoplease.com/cig/science-fair-
projects/color.html
Wang, Haibo, Nair, Muraleedharan G., Iezzoni, Amy F., Strasburg, Gale M.,
Booren, Alden M., and Gray, J. Ian. Quantification and Characterization of
Anthocyanins in Balaton Tart Cherries. Journal of Agricultural and Food
Chemistry 1997 45 (7), 2556-2560